PORTSMOUTH — The list of restaurants Jay McSharry has opened is impressive enough — but that's only part of the picture.

Rachel Forrest

PORTSMOUTH — The list of restaurants Jay McSharry has opened is impressive enough — but that's only part of the picture.

He's a restaurateur, yes, and he's influenced the Seacoast dining scene in many ways, but he's also an entrepreneur, humanitarian and a man who works hard to get Portsmouth noticed — not simply for his own gain, but for the greater good.

But sure, we know him first as a restaurateur, who opened Jumpin' Jay's Fish Cafe in 1990 with a book about how to run a business, only $80,000 and 20 tables. Now it's one of the restaurants that helped create the dining destination that is Portsmouth. Since then, he and partners have opened Dos Amigos Burritos in multiple locations; Radici, since sold; The Dunaway, also sold; Dover Soul and Little Louie's, sold; The Red Door; and his new 106 Kitchen and Bar. He's been working in restaurants since he was 14 and it's no wonder that even established restaurateurs come to him for advice.

"Who can remember what the Portsmouth restaurant scene was like before Jay McSharry?" Landgarten said. "I can — only barely. In one moment, he is my regular waiter at Anthony Alberto's (now Massimo), the next moment he owns 85 restaurants including one of the anchors of the whole area. He turned a used bookstore on a "dead" corner into a hot spot seemingly overnight. He's a phenom.

"He joined our SOS (Share Our Strength, a hunger relief nonprofit) committee, and immediately I felt like we were set for years to come because this incredible ball of energy with seemingly infinite common sense about all things restaurants and a can-do-anything attitude was on our team, and in short order, leading our team," Landgarten said.

McSharry has used his success to help build Portsmouth as a brand. He's on the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce board and is a leader in the growing Restaurant Week, which brings thousands to the city to dine, stay and shop.

"As much as success is inherently influential, Jay's passion about the community makes him that much more prominent," he said. "He's about getting involved. He will take public stands on parking, affordable housing, economic development, etc. These are issues that someone like Jay could wait for someone else to work on, but he can't or won't do that."

Bill Young, senior vice president/chief of lending at Optima Bank & Trust Co., works with McSharry on the chamber board. His bank financed McSharry and partner John Sorise's new restaurant, 106 Kitchen and Bar.

"He's very visible in the community and he's been one of the stronger voices in promoting Portsmouth as a brand," Young said. "He's asking, 'How do you draw people to restaurants, but also retail.' He sees the big picture. One of the things he is really involved in is Restaurant Week, and he helped increase it from 15 restaurants to now 40. And he's working on Shop Portsmouth, asking how do we build business in the community? I give him a lot of credit to open a new restaurant in a recession and convincing me to finance it."

Yes, he opens restaurants and knows how to make them successful. He buys the buildings, has great concepts and partners with other talented restaurateurs, but he also gives back.

"I saw firsthand how his sharp business acumen, warm heart and boundless energy combined to help that group raise money to support agencies fighting to end childhood hunger," she said.

Under his chairmanship, SOS Seacoast's main event, the Taste of the Nation Portsmouth gala at Strawbery Banke Museum, raised more than $100,000 for the first time, and has continued to do so with his help on the board, Wheeler said.

"So, while his restaurants help Portsmouth maintain its reputation as a culinary destination," she said, "he has also been raising funds for food pantries, political advocacy organizations and sustainability programs that feed the needy in our community."

And it's not just Share Our Strength. "He proved himself a dynamic fund-raiser in the Market Square Steeple Fund campaign," Wheeler said. "He supports the Portsmouth Halloween Parade every year, his restaurants have joined the Zero Waste Now eco-movement, he is an active member of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce board of directors, an involved UNH alum and more."

He's also on The Music Hall's board. Executive Director Patricia Lynch noted his laid-back way of relating to people, a part of bringing the community together.

"Jay is such an amazing guy," Lynch said. "I love the way he can gather people around big ideas. Jay has a way of making people see their enlightened self interest and how that hooks into the wider community. He lets everyone count themselves in on his projects whether it be a not for profit fund-raiser or a new restaurant. I think Jay is part of the can do, entrepreneurial spirit of the Seacoast."

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
seacoastonline.com ~ 111 New Hampshire Ave., Portsmouth, NH 03801 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service